S03.E13: Beginning

[AnimeMania]

(Season Finale)

THE SEARCH FOR XIAO — After uncovering Xiao’s master plan, Nicky (Olivia Liang) and the team find themselves in a race against the clock to stop her before it’s too late. 

Original Airdate: March 8, 2023          9pm        CW 

[Trini]

The magic stuff is still silly (Xiao was going to control humanity with magic through... satellites??), but I thought that was a good finale!

... Except for them not writing an ending for Zhilan, plus, she didn't get to say goodbye to Pei Ling.  :(

The ending scenes with Nicky; that was an homage to the original series, I assume?

More thoughts later...

[paigow]

The first minions that tried to stop Althea had guns...[Ryan was waving it around] so Xiao sends reinforcements that are mind-controlled to not shoot their way in... WTF???!!! And Ryan decides not to shoot anyone breaking through a window...

[owenthurman]

Was this a series finale?

[Trini]

47 minutes ago, owenthurman said:

Was this a series finale?

Probably? The show hasn't been renewed yet.

[thuganomics85]

Worked well enough for a series finale, even though it's not been made official yet.  But considering the fate of most CW shows.... yeah, I'm already preparing myself for what is likely to come.

So, Xiao ended up being one of those classic villains who just wanted to mind-control the world and she was planning on using the satellites to do so.  Yeah, all of that seemed like a reach but to be fair, the show never really did have a strong grip when it came to the magic stuff.  But I did like that her eventual defeat was thanks to a three pronged attack: Nicky physically, Pei-Ling mentally/in the mind palace, and Althea through technology.  I also liked how they intercut the fight sequences between Nicky/Xiao and Pei-Ling/Xiao.  

Man, if this was real life, I could only imagine what everyone's response would be once it is discovered that the new elected council member was suddenly boarding up his house like a crazy person and then a fleet of soldiers suddenly lay siege to it.  I would imagine at least one neighbor would have noticed that disturbance!  Eh, I'm down with just believing that everyone loves the Shens at this point and aren't going to let a few eccentricities overshadow the good they bring!

Zhilan definitely seems to be the biggest question mark now since we don't even what has happened to her during the five month time jump.  If this show somehow does survive, I imagine she'll be back though.

Nicky/Henry rekindling the flame was obvious and half-baked, but I did get a chuckle over how freaking Zhilan of all people was like "Dude, why are y'all still dragging this out?"

Despite its flaws, I wouldn't mind seeing this show come back.  While it might struggle with some of the mythical arcs, they've really done a great job with the character dynamics and chemistry between the cast.  I'll miss hanging with these folks again if they don't come back.  But if that's the case, hopefully they'll move on to other things.  Certainly hope to see everyone back on television in some form: especially Shannon Dang and Yvonne Chapman.

[paigow]

Is Althea stealing airline points for Nicky? O.G. Caine walked the Earth... 

[Camera One]

I thought this was a good season/series finale. 

On 3/10/2023 at 12:59 AM, thuganomics85 said:

But I did like that her eventual defeat was thanks to a three pronged attack: Nicky physically, Pei-Ling mentally/in the mind palace, and Althea through technology.  I also liked how they intercut the fight sequences between Nicky/Xiao and Pei-Ling/Xiao.  

That was exactly what I liked too.  This show has a great ensemble and they did a great job of using everyone to defeat Xiao, and stylishly executed, as usual.

I appreciate how this was a family-friendly show, so I didn't like the high body count.  The whole attack on the house was fun, but a bit too far-fetched.  Could the gaps between the planks over the windows be any wider?  These were civilians they were fighting and Zhilan was taking a baseball bat to them.  I don't blame her, but they're not zombies.  Realistically, Althea would be conducting her cyberfighting in a secure NSA facility. 

I would have liked Zhilan to have a moment with Pei-Ling before she passed.  Pei-Ling is such a great character that I really wish they could have kept her in the present for another season, without psycho Xiao popping up.

The extended closing montage definitely seemed designed to be the series finale.  It was nice, but slightly clunky.  The reunion with Henry was so unnecessarily anti-climatic.  A more built-up reconciliation/kiss would have been more effective than that cut-away to them in bed.  

I really hope this series is renewed.  Though this season had its weaknesses, I think the characters and the premise still have a lot of potential.  Unlike many shows, which are tapped out by the end of Season 3.  This show still has a freshness.  What a shame it might be cancelled before its time.  

[Camera One]

Like the last episode, the first half of the episode hyped up a possible solution (syringe of anti-magic juice from the fruit) that ended up useless.

I suppose it's more realistic that not everything works, but like the flower last week, it felt like a waste of time and not very satisfying.  At least have the juice force Xiao to vacate the area or something.  

Why didn't Xiao just travel to the Shen house to take care of all the annoyances herself?  It wasn't like she needed to stay at Delta headquarters.  Why did she no longer need the Delta satellite technicians anymore?  It would have made sense if she killed them after her mind-controlled thugs destroyed Althea's computer.  

Did Xiao have to be able to see people to control them; thus, the control of the satellites?  But what about people who are inside a building?  She seemed to have no problem mind-controlling them either?

Last time, Pei Ling shut Xiao up in the prison in her mind, but this time, Xiao just evaporated?  Huh?  

None of the problematic magical mumbo jumbo bothers me too much, but still, you should be able to think back and the plot should make sense.

Earlier in the season (while they had the guest actors), they should have filmed a scene where the various guardian and warrior spirits are returned to the realm of peace.  

They should have had Xiao attack the corporate headquarters of the company that bought Harmony Dumplings instead.  "I need the frozen dumplings recipe to control the bloodlines forever muahahahahahahaha!"  

[tennisgurl]

I thought that this was a good season/series finale, although I am guessing that it will end up being the series finale with so many CW shows being axed. The show was clearly wrapping things up and trying to give everyone closure in case this is the end of the show but there is still wiggle room for another season, and while I like this as a finale I would be happy to see the show come back. It has its flaws, especially this seasons focus on inconsistent magic, but I love the characters so much I am always happy to just hang out with them. 

It seems like everyone got their happy ending except for Zhilan, I am not sure where she goes from her and I'm sad she wasn't in the ending montage. She's become one of my favorite characters, she's had a great character arc and its great seeing how much she has grown over the show from main villain to standing invite to family dinner. 

I would think that a whole mass of armed people attacking a new councilman's house in the middle of a large residential neighborhood would be a pretty big deal, but at this point people might just be like "oh those Shen's, always some wackiness going on!" Probably my biggest complaint about the episode was that the big evil pan was really rushed, with everything happening at once when all of this, from the whole bloodline being threatened, Nicky losing her chosen one mojo, the whole plan to brainwash the world, this feels like it should have started at least a few episodes ago. I do like that they had everyone contribute towards the end, this show is really great at using its increasingly large ensemble, letting everyone help out and get some time to shine. 

Of course Henry and Nicky finally get together, of course Zhilan is the one who has to point out the blindingly obvious, that they both want to be together and have no reason not to be. 

Like I said, I would be happy to see more of this show but if this is the season finale, I am really happy with how things ended. 

[Trini]

Well I hated the show's reliance on random, unexplained magic for both its conflicts and solutions to said conflicts, but otherwise this was a mostly satisfying season/series finale.

I did really like how everyone was had a part to play in defeating Xiao - in ways that made sense. Again I have to commend the show for using its large cast effectively.

I wish they had given Zhilan a final moment with Pei Ling, or some idea of what her story might be afterwards; especially after they spent so much time on her excellent redemption arc. Maybe the actress wasn't going to be available or included for a potential fourth season?

And was I supposed to be happy about Nicky and Henry only getting back together for 5 minutes after they had shelved that relationship for most of the season?

Otherwise, I did like the happy endings for everyone else. Nicky walking into the sunset was a nice homage and a fitting ending for the show.

This cast was great, and great together, and I'll miss them. I hope I see them in other projects.